Ottolenghi's Apricot, Walnut and Lavender Cake

One of my favourite cakes to make when stone fruit is in season, this simple cake retains a lot of moisture from the ground almonds and walnuts. The lavender is very subtle so don’t be afraid to include it, but if you can’t get a hold of them, almond extract or a vanilla bean’s seeds would be a lovely substitute!

Recipe from Ottolenghi’s Plenty More Cookbook

Ingredients:

¾ cup plus 1 Tbsp/185g unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 cup plus 1½ Tbsp/220g granulated sugar

1¼ cups/120g ground almonds (blanched almond flour)

4 large eggs, whisked

1 cup/120g walnuts, freshly blitzed in a food processor to a coarse powder

¾ cup/90g all-purpose flour

½ Tsp vanilla extract

grated zest of 1 lemon

1½ tsp dried lavender flowers

10 apricots, halved and pitted (about 600g)

Kosher salt

Icing:

about 6 tbsp/50g confectioners’ sugar

1 tbsp lemon juice

Method

Preheat the oven to 375ºF/190ºC

1. Place the butter, oil, sugar and almonds in a stand mixer and beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Add the eggs in small additions and continue to beat until well incorporated. Fold in the walnuts, flour, vanilla, lemon zest, 1 teaspoon of the lavender and ⅛ teaspoon salt.

2. Line the base and sides of a 9-inch/23-cm cake pan with parchment paper. Pour in cake batter and level the top. Arrange the apricot halves in the batter. Bake in the oven for 70 to 80 minutes, covering with foil if it starts to brown.

3, Whisk together the confectioners’ sugar and lemon juice to get a light, pourable icing, adjusting the amount of sugar or juice if needed. As soon as the cake comes out of the oven, brush the icing on top. Sprinkle the remaining ½ teaspoon lavender over the top and leave the cake to cool before serving.